The rise of East Perth

East Perth is a bit of a must visit these days. Trimmed with posh abodes , lovely river side walks, great schools and a helping of gorgeous little eateries, it’s easy to see why so many people flock here of a weekend to enjoy the laid back lifestyle.

I’m told that, years ago, East Perth was at the bottom of the pile in terms of desirable living. Tainted with its industrial past – it was home to gas works, a power station, engine sheds and a railway yard – Perthites snubbed its grayness in exchange for more happening areas like Cottesloe, Mount Lawley, Highgate and Fremantle.

This reputation held strong as the builders moved in and renovated the old buildings in to modern residential units, though I imagine those who disregarded it during the redevelopment phase must be kicking themselves with regret now (whilst the savvy investors who took a punt laugh smugly into their Dom Perignon’s).

The target of a multi-million dollar urban renewal project, East Perth is considered prime real estate territory these days. Homes have apparently tripled in the last decade and residents put on an interesting display of wealth - rocking up on their boats at Claisebrook Cove for morning tea, riding the Swan on jet skis, strolling around the renovated park lands with little dogs sporting the latest hair accessory…there’s undoubtedly plenty of $$$$ in this part of town.  

The selling point for us is the river walks, great bike trails, the views from the hill at Claisebrook and coffee at The Partisan. If money were no object, I imagine we’d sail across to Burswood for lunch at Nobu, frequent the beautiful Restaurant Amuse (the best degustation menu in town – so I’m told) and enjoy Horse racing and gala days at Gloucester Park….

Those with an appreciation of dilapidated buildings will enjy the old Western Power building – a knackered old shack of a tower that to me is something quite beautiful. Tall, disheveled and slightly askew, there must be thousands of great stories held within those wonky four walls, though it sits on prime real estate land which can mean only one thing – it is doomed for demolition in exchange for yet another run of executive homes with names like ‘The Sebel Residence’ or ‘Claisebrook Towers’.

Hopefully the East Perth Development Authority will stand firm on this one and recommend an art house cinema, library or gallery. Only time will tell…

Fitness or fatness...you decide

One thing I love about Oz is people’s commitment to fitness. It might be the hot weather that does it - the scorching hot sun that necessitates the need to be in your smalls for at least 4-5 months of the year. But it’s also something to do with that quintessentially Australian ‘can-do’ attitude, a conquer all approach to life that makes Aussies a force to be reckoned with.

Fitness hounds are most often witnessed first thing in the morning when they can be seen clad in Lycra, stretching/running and panting furiously with their trainers in Perth's parks. There are local meditation classes EVERY morning in Hyde Park, Zumba classes are packed to the brim, cycling to work is considered de rigueur (especially if you have a woven basket on the front) and tai chi is the relaxation method of choice.

The thing that truly impresses however is the commitment to working out in furious heat. Whilst most of us are cowering away in the confines of our comfortable air conditioned cars and houses, there is a large bunch of Perthites parading their beautiful bods along beach fronts, cafe strips and inner city shopping centres. Now THAT'S impressive.

On the flip side, WA certainly isn’t exempt from the obesity epidemic that’s sweeping the rest of the world. There are fast food restaurants a-plenty selling deep fried everything to hordes of hungry customers – especially on Friday nights it seems when cars can be seen queuing outside the Hungry Jacks/Chicken Treat/KFC/Macca's drive thru's for yet another family burger fest.

Whilst us Greens have a fairly positive approach to fitness, I can’t say we’ve been swayed either way really. Not being a lover of sweat, I’ve chosen not to join the masses of cyclers, runners, walkers etc who brave the fierce heat to preserve their svelte looking bods. Instead, I use the Xbox Kinect and the Your Shape workout – an interactive fitness method that gets the heart rate up and targets all those important bits – bum, thighs, tum – that I, and most other women on the planet hate. The beauty of it is I get to position myself under the aircon which means less sweat, no onlookers and a cooler, more comfortable workout.

To contradict everything I’ve just said, I do plan to visit the Bikram Yoga centre around the corner at some point this month. Getting in to numerous tricky poses in 38 degree heat doesn’t exactly fill me with joy but I can see the merits in practicing in a professional environment with yoga-know-hows – the Bikram fanatics who can vouch for its life changing benefits (and help me perfect that tree pose...)

Bring on the sweat fest.